RELATED ARTICLES

Share this article

He says: 'The recent strong UK car sales were maintained in January driven largely by cheap finance offered by car manufacturers, bolstered by continuing PPI claim payouts and substantial fuel cost savings from switching to a new car.

'These elements are likely to remain in place in 2014.'

At Moody's Corporate Finance Group, vice-president and senior analyst Andreas Rands says: 'We expect UK new car registrations to grow in 2014 as a result of further anticipated strengthening in the UK economy.'

So there's never been a better time to buy a new car.

Makers and dealers are desperate to do a deal, so there are tempting finance offers around.

By historic standards, interest rates are incredibly low and money is cheap to borrow.

What could possibly stand in your way? Your credit record, actually.

Every time you inadvertently miss a payment on your card or your bank messes up taking a payment then blames you, there's the risk of a little black mark appearing on your record.

That will affect your ability to borrow, how much of a risk you are considered and how high your repayment charges may be.

So it's worth having a peek at the report card the banks and other financial institutions have on you.

Neil Munroe, a director at credit information expert Equifax, says: 'Buyers still need a good credit history to be able to make the most of the great deals available.

'Anyone planning to buy a new car on finance should check their credit history before they start browsing the showrooms so they have the best chance of getting the loan they want.'

Seven is proving a lucky number for Kia.

It's just marking the seventh anniversary of its industryleading seven-year warranty — with the first cars to be sold under the scheme just coming out of it.

The Korean company came up with the extra-long warranty to coincide with the launch of its Cee'd model in February 2007.

Cee'ds are designed and manufactured in Europe, at the Zilina factory in Slovakia.

In 2010, Kia extended the protection to its entire range and now almost 290,000 cars have been sold to UK buyers on those terms, including more than 82,000 Cee'd models.

Paul Philpott, Kia UK's president and chief executive, said the warranty was a statement of confidence, noting: 'When we announced the warranty, there were many cynics and doubters who claimed it'd be a short-term measure.

Great things come in small packages, as this amazing new engine (below) reveals.

Not only can you pick it up, it's compact enough to qualify as carry-on flight luggage (just don't try it on Ryanair).

The tidy DIG-T R, three-cylinder, 1.5-litre, turbo-charged petrol engine will have a racing debut at Le Mans before finding its way into mainstream cars.

The engine weighs only 40kg (88lb) but produces 400 bhp — about the same as four Nissan Micras.

It measures just 20 x 16 x 8in.

It will be linked to an electric motor on Nissan's ZEOD RC at the Le Mans 24-Hour race in mid-June.

Darren Cox, Nissan's global motorsport boss, said: 'Nissan will become the first major manufacturer to use a threecylinder engine in major international motorsport.

'Lessons learned will be seen in future road cars.'

Nissan's new London taxi is to be built in Coventry — home of UK taxi-building for decades — by ADV Manufacturing in a £6million joint investment.

The new black cabs are based on NV200 vans from Nissan's factory in Barcelona.

The DB Junior (pictured) is great for young wannabe 007s - don't worry parents, it doesn't come with automatic guns and or an ejector seat.

For budding James Bonds who aren't yet old enough for a licence to drive comes a new 'baby' version of 007's favourite car.

The DB Junior (left) is a fully functioning, petrolengined classic sports car for children aged ten and over, inspired by the British superspy's legendary Aston Martin DB5 of the Sixties.

Priced from £16,500 — the cost of a modest family saloon — the junior Bondmobile is a convertible rather than a coupe, and has a top speed of 46mph, which can be restricted downwards.

It is powered by a 110cc four-stroke petrol engine linked to a semi-automatic three-speed gearbox plus reverse, with a key-operated electric starter. The adjustable pedal box means it can accommodate drivers up to 6ft.

However, it cannot be driven on public highways so driving is restricted to private land or tracks.

And unlike the big-screen Bond versions, which appeared in early movies such as Goldfinger and Thunderball and more recently in Skyfall, this one does not have machine guns or an ejector seat.